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Airframe

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The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe . This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage , undercarriage , empennage and wings , and excludes the propulsion system .

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127-626: Airframe design is a field of aerospace engineering that combines aerodynamics , materials technology and manufacturing methods with a focus on weight, strength and aerodynamic drag , as well as reliability and cost. Modern airframe history began in the United States during the Wright Flyer's maiden flight, showing the potential of fixed-wing designs in aircraft. In 1912 the Deperdussin Monocoque pioneered

254-576: A commercial aircraft ; composites are increasingly used since in Airbus airliners: the horizontal stabilizer of the A320 in 1987 and A330 / A340 in 1994, and the center wing-box and aft fuselage of the A380 in 2005. The Cirrus SR20 , type certificated in 1998, was the first widely produced general aviation aircraft manufactured with all-composite construction, followed by several other light aircraft in

381-404: A B-1X (NX4215) as a gift for Charles Lindbergh. Pilot Frank Hawks purchased a Mahoney Ryan B-1 Brougham (NC3009) with money from his wife, naming the plane the "Spirit of San Diego." In the aftermath of the media exposure surrounding Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, he flew to Washington with his wife on board to greet the triumphant Lindbergh. Due to the ensuing publicity, Hawks was hired by

508-668: A bonfire." Lindbergh subsequently flew the Spirit of St. Louis to Belgium and England before President Calvin Coolidge sent the light cruiser Memphis to bring them back to the United States. Arriving on June 11, Lindbergh and the Spirit were escorted up the Potomac River to Washington, D.C. , by a fleet of warships, multiple flights of military pursuit aircraft, bombers, and the rigid airship Los Angeles (which

635-444: A clear layer of varnish or shellac to the forward panels in an attempt to preserve the flags and other artwork painted on the engine cowling. This protective coating has yellowed with age, resulting in the golden hue seen today. Smithsonian officials at some point planned to remove the varnish and restore the nose panels to their original silver appearance when the aircraft was to be taken down for conservation, but later decided that

762-535: A distance of approximately 3,600 miles (5,800 km). He also flew this aircraft on numerous occasions, delivering mail in and out of the United States. One of the best-known aircraft in the world, the Spirit was built by Ryan Airlines in San Diego, California , owned and operated at the time by Benjamin Franklin Mahoney , who had purchased it from its founder, T. Claude Ryan , in 1926. The Spirit

889-796: A dry-fiber resin transfer infusion wing with a lightweight aluminium-lithium alloy fuselage for damage resistance and repairability, a combination which could be used for future narrow-body aircraft . In 2016, the Cirrus Vision SF50 became the first certified light jet made entirely from carbon-fiber composites. In February 2017, Airbus installed a 3D printing machine for titanium aircraft structural parts using electron beam additive manufacturing from Sciaky, Inc. Airframe production has become an exacting process. Manufacturers operate under strict quality control and government regulations. Departures from established standards become objects of major concern. A landmark in aeronautical design,

1016-435: A large number of light aircraft are designed and built by amateur hobbyists and enthusiasts . In the early years of aircraft design, designers generally used analytical theory to do the various engineering calculations that go into the design process along with a lot of experimentation. These calculations were labour-intensive and time-consuming. In the 1940s, several engineers started looking for ways to automate and simplify

1143-460: A letter of congratulations from the Wright management. The race to win the prize required time-saving design compromises. Donald A. Hall decided that the empennage (tail assembly) and wing control surfaces would not be altered from his original Ryan M-2 design, thus minimizing redesign time that was not available without delaying the flight. The result was less aerodynamic stability; nevertheless,

1270-487: A liquid magnetic compass. The main compass was mounted behind Lindbergh in the cockpit, and he read it using the mirror from a women's makeup case which was mounted to the ceiling using chewing gum. Lindbergh also installed a newly developed Earth Inductor Compass made by the Pioneer Instrument Company which allowed him to more accurately navigate while taking account of the magnetic declination of

1397-425: A precaution against hitting ship masts, trees, or structures while flying at low altitude, a Ryan employee who had served in the submarine service installed a periscope which Lindbergh helped design. It is unclear whether the periscope was used during the flight. The instrument panel housed fuel pressure, oil pressure and temperature gauges, a clock, altimeter, tachometer, airspeed indicator, bank and turn indicator, and

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1524-615: A shorter wingspan. Under the newly restructured B.F. Mahoney Company, further development continued with the six-place Model B-7 utilizing a 420 hp (310 kW) engine and the Model C-1 with the basic 220 hp (160 kW) engine. Shortly after the original Spirit was retired in April 1928, the Mahoney Aircraft Corporation presented Lindbergh with a Mahoney Ryan B-1 "Brougham". In 1928, Mahoney built

1651-489: Is accompanied by enhanced structural integrity and performance reliability. Electric resistance spot and seam welding are used to join secondary structures, such as fairings, engine cowls, and doublers, to bulkheads and skins. Difficulties in quality control have resulted in low utilization of electric resistance welding for primary structure. Ultrasonic welding offers some economic and quality-control advantages for production joining, particularly for thin sheet. However,

1778-505: Is alclad 2024-T3. The internal structure comprises stringers, spars, bulkheads, chord members, and various attaching fittings made of aluminum extrusions, formed sheet, forgings, and castings. The alloys most used for extruded members are 2024-T4 for sections less than 0.125 in. thick and for general application, and 2014-T6 for thicker, more highly stressed sections. Alloy 6061-T6 has considerable application for extrusions requiring thin sections and excellent corrosion resistance. Alloy 2014-T6

1905-451: Is called design optimization. Fundamental aspects such as fuselage shape, wing configuration and location, engine size and type are all determined at this stage. Constraints to design like those mentioned above are all taken into account at this stage as well. The final product is a conceptual layout of the aircraft configuration on paper or computer screen, to be reviewed by engineers and other designers. The design configuration arrived at in

2032-402: Is critical under compressive loading . Alloy 7079-T6 was introduced in the United States in 1954. In forged sections over 3 in. thick, it provides higher strength and greater transverse ductility than 7075-T6. It now is available in sheet, plate, extrusions, and forgings. Alloy X7080-T7, with higher resistance to stress corrosion than 7079-T6, is being developed for thick parts. Because it

2159-509: Is derived from various factors such as empty weight, payload, useful load, etc. The various weights are used to then calculate the center of mass of the entire aircraft. The center of mass must fit within the established limits set by the manufacturer. The aircraft structure focuses not only on strength, aeroelasticity , durability , damage tolerance , stability , but also on fail-safety , corrosion resistance, maintainability and ease of manufacturing. The structure must be able to withstand

2286-641: Is expected. A 90% static reproduction, built in 1956 for The Spirit of St Louis film by studio employees, is now on display at the Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie, MN. In 1999, the San Diego Air & Space Museum built a non-flying example that was fitted with an original Wright J-5 engine. It is on display at San Diego International Airport . A static reproduction of

2413-526: Is known, however, that Hawley Bowlus was the factory manager who oversaw construction of the Ryan NYP, and that Mahoney was the sole owner at the time of Donald A. Hall 's hiring. The Spirit was designed and built in San Diego to compete for the $ 25,000 Orteig Prize for the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris. Hall and Ryan Airlines staff worked closely with Lindbergh to design and build

2540-549: Is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. . The exhibit, Pioneers of Flight, is closed for renovations until Spring 2025. Officially known as the "Ryan NYP" (for N ew Y ork to P aris), the single-engine monoplane was designed by Donald A. Hall of Ryan Airlines and named the "Spirit of St. Louis" in honor of Lindbergh's supporters from

2667-438: Is relatively insensitive to quenching rate, good strengths with low quenching stresses can be produced in thick sections. Cladding of aluminum alloys was developed initially to increase the corrosion resistance of 2017-T4 sheet and thus to reduce aluminum aircraft maintenance requirements. The coating on 2017 sheet - and later on 2024-T3 - consisted of commercial-purity aluminum metallurgically bonded to one or both surfaces of

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2794-618: Is required. Alloys 3003, 6061, and 6951 are utilized extensively in brazed heat exchangers and hydraulic accessories. Recently developed alloys, such as 5086, 5454, 5456, 6070, and the new weldable aluminum-magnesium-zinc alloys, offer strength advantages over those previously mentioned. Sheet assembly of light aircraft is accomplished predominantly with rivets of alloys 2017-T4, 2117-T4, or 2024-T4. Self-tapping sheet metal screws are available in aluminum alloys, but cadmium-plated steel screws are employed more commonly to obtain higher shear strength and driveability. Alloy 2024-T4 with an anodic coating

2921-490: Is standard for aluminum screws, bolts, and nuts made to military specifications. Alloy 6262-T9, however, is superior for nuts, because of its virtual immunity to stress-corrosion cracking. Aircraft design process The aircraft design process is a loosely defined method used to balance many competing and demanding requirements to produce an aircraft that is strong, lightweight, economical and can carry an adequate payload while being sufficiently reliable to safely fly for

3048-865: Is the primary forging alloy, especially for landing gear and hydraulic cylinders. Alloy 6061-T6 and its forging counterpart 6151-T6 often are utilized in miscellaneous fittings for reasons of economy and increased corrosion performance, when the parts are not highly stressed. Alloys 356-T6 and A356-T6 are the primary casting alloys employed for brackets, bellcranks, pulleys, and various fittings. Wheels are produced in these alloys as permanent mold or sand castings. Die castings in alloy A380 also are satisfactory for wheels for light aircraft. For low-stressed structure in light aircraft, alloys 3003-H12, H14, and H16; 5052-O, H32, H34, and H36; and 6061-T4 and T6 are sometimes employed. These alloys are also primary selections for fuel, lubricating oil, and hydraulic oil tanks, piping, and instrument tubing and brackets, especially where welding

3175-471: Is to specify castings only in places where failure of the part cannot cause loss of the airplane. Redundancy in cable and hydraulic control systems permits the use of castings. Casting technology has made great advances in the last decade. Time-honored alloys such as 355 and 356 have been modified to produce higher levels of strength and ductility. New alloys such as 354, A356, A357, 359 and Tens 50 were developed for premium-strength castings. The high strength

3302-836: The Boeing 787 and the Lockheed Martin F-35 have proven far more costly and complex to develop than expected. More advanced and integrated design tools have been developed. Model-based systems engineering predicts potentially problematic interactions, while computational analysis and optimization allows designers to explore more options early in the process. Increasing automation in engineering and manufacturing allows faster and cheaper development. Technology advances from materials to manufacturing enable more complex design variations like multifunction parts. Once impossible to design or construct, these can now be 3D printed , but they have yet to prove their utility in applications like

3429-553: The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was the first titanium aircraft but it was underpowered and barely supersonic ; the Mach 3.2 Lockheed A-12 and SR-71 were also mainly titanium, as was the cancelled Boeing 2707 Mach 2.7 supersonic transport . Because heat-resistant titanium is hard to weld and difficult to work with, welded nickel steel was used for the Mach 2.8 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 fighter, first flown in 1964; and

3556-528: The Harrier jump jet , have VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) ability, helicopters have the ability to hover over an area for a period of time. The purpose may be to fit a specific requirement, e.g. as in the historical case of a British Air Ministry specification , or fill a perceived "gap in the market"; that is, a class or design of aircraft which does not yet exist, but for which there would be significant demand. Another important factor that influences

3683-569: The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II , F/A-18 Hornet and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit . Airbus and Boeing are the dominant assemblers of large jet airliners while ATR , Bombardier and Embraer lead the regional airliner market; many manufacturers produce airframe components. The vertical stabilizer of the Airbus A310 -300, first flown in 1985, was the first carbon-fiber primary structure used in

3810-806: The Missouri History Museum , in St. Louis, B-156 is part of the collection at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan , and B-159 belongs to the Cradle of Aviation Museum located in Garden City, Long Island, New York, not far from the site of Roosevelt Field from which the original departed in 1927. According to information at the Henry Ford Museum, their copy (B-156) was actually owned by James Stewart , who portrayed Lindbergh in

3937-531: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and is included as an appendix to Lindbergh's 1953 Pulitzer Prize winning book The Spirit of St. Louis . B.F. "Frank" Mahoney and Claude Ryan had co-founded the company as an airline in 1925 and Ryan remained with the company after Mahoney bought out his interest in 1926, although there is some dispute as to how involved Ryan may have been in its management after selling his share. It

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4064-572: The Northrop Grumman B-21 or the re-engined A320neo and 737 MAX . Airbus and Boeing also recognize the economic limits, that the next airliner generation cannot cost more than the previous ones did. An increase in the number of aircraft also means greater carbon emissions. Environmental scientists have voiced concern over the main kinds of pollution associated with aircraft, mainly noise and emissions. Aircraft engines have been historically notorious for creating noise pollution and

4191-643: The Ryan NYP , registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that Charles Lindbergh flew on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York , to Paris, France , for which Lindbergh won the $ 25,000 Orteig Prize . Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt Airfield in Garden City, New York , and landed 33 hours, 30 minutes later at Aéroport Le Bourget in Paris,

4318-401: The Spirit in just 60 days. Although what was actually paid to Ryan Airlines for the project is not clear, Mahoney agreed to build the plane for $ 6,000 and said that there would be no profit; he offered an engine, instruments, etc. at cost. After first approaching several major aircraft manufacturers without success, in early February 1927 Lindbergh, who as a U.S. Air Mail pilot was familiar with

4445-546: The Spirit 3 was removed from display and was flown as a 75th Anniversary tribute to Lindbergh. The aircraft is now on display in the museum's rotunda. Through the efforts of both staff and volunteers, the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin produced two reproductions of the Spirit of St. Louis , powered by Continental R-670 -4 radial engines, the first in 1977 (of which

4572-547: The Spirit of St. Louis flown across the Atlantic by Charles Lindbergh in 1927. William Stout designed the all-metal Ford Trimotors in 1926. The Hall XFH naval fighter prototype flown in 1929 was the first aircraft with a riveted metal fuselage : an aluminium skin over steel tubing, Hall also pioneered flush rivets and butt joints between skin panels in the Hall PH flying boat also flying in 1929. Based on

4699-516: The Spirit of St. Louis is a golden color because of a well-intentioned but mistaken attempt by us to preserve the markings on the cowling. We don’t know exactly when, but soon after the Smithsonian acquired the Spirit in May 1928, we sought to preserve the markings by applying a clear coat of varnish or shellac. Unfortunately, over the years, this coating has yellowed with age. While it has taken on

4826-431: The Spirit of St. Louis was also one of the most advanced and aerodynamically streamlined designs of its era. Lindbergh believed that a flight made in a single-seat monoplane designed around the dependable Wright J-5 Whirlwind radial engine provided the best chance of success. The Ryan NYP had a total fuel capacity of 450 U.S. gallons (1,700 L; 370 imp gal) or 2,710 pounds (1,230 kg) of gasoline, which

4953-678: The Spirit of St. Louis was built in 2002 and is on display at St. Louis Lambert International Airport . The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum at Rantoul, Illinois also has a static reproduction built by museum volunteers. Two reproductions are also found in Germany, one at the Frankfurt International Airport with the second in the " Luftfahrtmuseum Hannover ". Data from General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era The nose of

5080-479: The 1916 LFG Roland C.II , and would later be licensed to Pfalz Flugzeugwerke for its D-series biplane fighters. In 1916 the German Albatros D.III biplane fighters featured semi-monocoque fuselages with load-bearing plywood skin panels glued to longitudinal longerons and bulkheads ; it was replaced by the prevalent stressed skin structural configuration as metal replaced wood. Similar methods to

5207-536: The 1930s. The J 1 of 1915, and the D.I fighter of 1918, were followed in 1919 by the first all-metal transport aircraft, the Junkers F.13 made of Duralumin as the D.I had been; 300 were built, along with the first four- engine , all-metal passenger aircraft , the sole Zeppelin-Staaken E-4/20 . Commercial aircraft development during the 1920s and 1930s focused on monoplane designs using Radial engines . Some were produced as single copies or in small quantity such as

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5334-476: The 1967 Paris Air Show where it made several flights over Paris. In 1972, Spirit 2 was bought for $ 50,000 by the San Diego Air & Space Museum (formerly San Diego Aerospace Museum) and placed on public display until it was destroyed by arson in 1978. The museum built a replacement named Spirit 3 which first flew on April 28, 1979; it made seven flights before being placed on display. In August 2003,

5461-519: The 2000s. The Boeing 787 , first flown in 2009, was the first commercial aircraft with 50% of its structure weight made of carbon-fiber composites, along with 20% aluminium and 15% titanium: the material allows for a lower-drag, higher wing aspect ratio and higher cabin pressurization; the competing Airbus A350 , flown in 2013, is 53% carbon-fiber by structure weight. It has a one-piece carbon fiber fuselage, said to replace "1,200 sheets of aluminium and 40,000 rivets." The 2013 Bombardier CSeries have

5588-437: The 89th anniversary of Lindbergh's flight. JNE Aircraft's reproduction Over a period of 7 years and 3 months, John Norman of Burlington , Washington crafted to-date the most authentic Spirit reproduction ever built. With the intention of creating a copy of the aircraft "as it sits now," with all the patches, updates or modifications recreated in pains-taking detail and the added bonus of being airworthy Norman completed

5715-517: The Albatros firm's concept were used by both Hannoversche Waggonfabrik for their light two-seat CL.II through CL.V designs, and by Siemens-Schuckert for their later Siemens-Schuckert D.III and higher-performance D.IV biplane fighter designs. The Albatros D.III construction was of much less complexity than the patented LFG Wickelrumpf concept for their outer skinning. German engineer Hugo Junkers first flew all-metal airframes in 1915 with

5842-458: The Atlantic. The Spirit of St. Louis was powered by a 223 hp (166 kW), air-cooled, nine-cylinder Wright J-5C Whirlwind radial engine, by most accounts an exceptionally engineered powerplant by engineer Charles Lawrance . The engine was rated for a maximum operating time of 9,000 hours (more than one year if operated continuously) and had a special mechanism that could keep it clean for

5969-564: The EAA reproductions were registered under the original's N-X-211. Another airworthy reproduction was built by David Cannavo and first flown in 1979, powered by a Lycoming R-680 engine. In 1995, it was bought by Kermit Weeks for his Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, Florida . A reproduction of the Spirit (Registration ES-XCL), which had been built and certified in Estonia in 1997,

6096-517: The First World War. In 1916, L. Brequet designed a reconnaissance bomber that marked the initial use of aluminum in the working structure of an airplane. By war’s end, the Allies and Germany employed aluminum alloys for the structural framework of fuselage and wing assemblies. The aircraft airframe has been the most demanding application for aluminum alloys; to chronicle the development of

6223-630: The German/Austrian Taube monoplanes . These used hybrid wood and metal structures. By the 1915/16 timeframe, the German Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft firm had devised a fully monocoque all-wood structure with only a skeletal internal frame, using strips of plywood laboriously "wrapped" in a diagonal fashion in up to four layers, around concrete male molds in "left" and "right" halves, known as Wickelrumpf (wrapped-body) construction - this first appeared on

6350-535: The Italian Savoia-Marchetti S.56 , the 1931 Budd BB-1 Pioneer experimental flying boat was constructed of corrosion-resistant stainless steel assembled with newly developed spot welding by U.S. railcar maker Budd Company . The original Junkers corrugated duralumin-covered airframe philosophy culminated in the 1932-origin Junkers Ju 52 trimotor airliner, used throughout World War II by

6477-593: The Mach 3.1 North American XB-70 Valkyrie used brazed stainless steel honeycomb panels and titanium but was cancelled by the time it flew in 1964. A computer-aided design system was developed in 1969 for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle , which first flew in 1974 alongside the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and both used boron fiber composites in the tails; less expensive carbon fiber reinforced polymer were used for wing skins on

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6604-570: The Nazi German Luftwaffe for transport and paratroop needs. Andrei Tupolev's designs in Joseph Stalin 's Soviet Union designed a series of all-metal aircraft of steadily increasing size culminating in the largest aircraft of its era, the eight-engined Tupolev ANT-20 in 1934, and Donald Douglas ' firms developed the iconic Douglas DC-3 twin-engined airliner in 1936. They were among the most successful designs to emerge from

6731-601: The Ryan Aircraft company to be its official representative. Hawks went on to tour the country, selling rides in the aircraft "like Lindy flew." The Mahoney Ryan B-1 "Brougham" was also used as the basis of a reproduction of the Spirit of St. Louis . The reproduction was used in the 1938 Paramount film Men with Wings starring Ray Milland . All three reproductions from the Warner Bros. film The Spirit of St Louis (1957) have survived with B-153 on display at

6858-491: The St. Louis Raquette Club in his then hometown of St. Louis, Missouri . To save design time, the NYP was loosely based on the company's 1926 Ryan M-2 mailplane, the main difference being the NYP's 4,000-mile (6,400 km) range. As a nonstandard design, the government assigned it the registration number N-X-211 (for "experimental"). Hall documented his design in "Engineering Data on the Spirit of St. Louis ", which he prepared for

6985-520: The aircraft would help to keep Lindbergh awake during the estimated 40-hour flight. Whether or not the unstable design was deliberately retained to help fight fatigue, Lindbergh did later write how these random unanticipated movements helped keep him awake at various times during the flight. The stiff wicker seat in the cockpit was also purposely uncomfortable, although custom-fitted to Lindbergh's tall and lanky frame. Lindbergh also insisted that unnecessary weight be eliminated, even going so far as to cut

7112-428: The aircraft's intended purpose. Commercial airliners are designed for carrying a passenger or cargo payload, long range and greater fuel efficiency whereas fighter jets are designed to perform high speed maneuvers and provide close support to ground troops. Some aircraft have specific missions, for instance, amphibious airplanes have a unique design that allows them to operate from both land and water, some fighters, like

7239-448: The aircraft. The aviation operators include the passenger and cargo airliners , air forces and owners of private aircraft. They agree to comply with the regulations set by the regulatory bodies, understand the limitations of the aircraft as specified by the manufacturer, report defects and assist the manufacturers in keeping up the airworthiness standards. Most of the design criticisms these days are built on crashworthiness . Even with

7366-439: The airmail service of Robertson Aircraft Corporation ) to pilot the Spirit of St. Louis for ten minutes each on July 1 and August 8, 1927, respectively. These two are apparently the only persons other than Lindbergh who ever piloted the Spirit of St. Louis. One year and two days after making their first flight at Dutch Flats in San Diego, California, on April 28, 1927, Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis flew together for

7493-468: The all-metal, cantilever -wing, stressed-skin monoplane Junkers J 1 made of steel . It developed further with lighter weight duralumin , invented by Alfred Wilm in Germany before the war; in the airframe of the Junkers D.I of 1918, whose techniques were adopted almost unchanged after the war by both American engineer William Bushnell Stout and Soviet aerospace engineer Andrei Tupolev , proving to be useful for aircraft up to 60 meters in wingspan by

7620-478: The best known were the US C-47 Skytrain , B-17 Flying Fortress , B-25 Mitchell and P-38 Lightning , and British Vickers Wellington that used a geodesic construction method, and Avro Lancaster , all revamps of original designs from the 1930s. The first jets were produced during the war but not made in large quantity. Due to wartime scarcity of aluminium, the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber

7747-509: The builders' achievement with a photograph captioned "The Men Who Made the Plane", identifying: "B. Franklin Mahoney, president, Ryan Airlines", Bowlus, Hall and Edwards standing with the aviator in front of the completed aircraft. Lindbergh believed that multiple engines resulted in a greater risk of failure while a single-engine design would give him greater range. To increase fuel efficiency,

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7874-402: The calculation process and many relations and semi-empirical formulas were developed. Even after simplification, the calculations continued to be extensive. With the invention of the computer, engineers realized that a majority of the calculations could be automated, but the lack of design visualization and the huge amount of experimentation involved kept the field of aircraft design stagnant. With

8001-421: The conceptual design phase is then tweaked and remodeled to fit into the design parameters. In this phase, wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamic calculations of the flow field around the aircraft are done. Major structural and control analysis is also carried out in this phase. Aerodynamic flaws and structural instabilities if any are corrected and the final design is drawn and finalized. Then after

8128-453: The constraints on their design. Historically design teams used to be small, usually headed by a Chief Designer who knows all the design requirements and objectives and coordinated the team accordingly. As time progressed, the complexity of military and airline aircraft also grew. Modern military and airline design projects are of such a large scale that every design aspect is tackled by different teams and then brought together. In general aviation

8255-538: The cost of the Spirit that he had saved from his earnings as an Air Mail pilot for Robertson Aircraft Corporation . The rest was provided by the Spirit of St. Louis Organization . Lindbergh was convinced: "I believe in Hall's ability; I like Mahoney's enthusiasm. I have confidence in the character of the workmen I've met." He then went to the airfield to familiarize himself with a Ryan aircraft, either an M-1 or an M-2, then telegraphed his St. Louis backers and recommended

8382-461: The day required, to be done manually by the pilot or ground crew prior to every flight and would have been otherwise required somehow to be done during the long flight. The engine was built at Wright Aeronautical in Paterson, New Jersey, by a 24-year-old engine builder, Tom Rutledge, who was disappointed that he was assigned to the unknown aviator, Lindbergh. Four days after the flight, he received

8509-535: The deal, which was quickly approved. Mahoney lived up to his commitment. Working exclusively on the aircraft and closely with Lindbergh, the staff completed the Spirit of St. Louis 60 days after Lindbergh arrived in San Diego. Powered by a Wright Whirlwind J-5C 223-hp radial engine, it had a 14 m (46-foot) wingspan, 3 m (10 ft) longer than the M-1, to accommodate the heavy load of 1,610 L (425 gal) of fuel. In his 1927 book We , Lindbergh acknowledged

8636-723: The design are the requirements for obtaining a type certificate for a new design of aircraft. These requirements are published by major national airworthiness authorities including the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency . Airports may also impose limits on aircraft, for instance, the maximum wingspan allowed for a conventional aircraft is 80 metres (260 ft) to prevent collisions between aircraft while taxiing. Budget limitations, market requirements and competition set constraints on

8763-523: The design life of the aircraft. Similar to, but more exacting than, the usual engineering design process , the technique is highly iterative, involving high-level configuration tradeoffs, a mixture of analysis and testing and the detailed examination of the adequacy of every part of the structure. For some types of aircraft, the design process is regulated by civil airworthiness authorities . This article deals with powered aircraft such as airplanes and helicopter designs. The design process starts with

8890-613: The design mission. The wing of a fixed-wing aircraft provides the lift necessary for flight. Wing geometry affects every aspect of an aircraft's flight. The wing area will usually be dictated by the desired stalling speed but the overall shape of the planform and other detail aspects may be influenced by wing layout factors. The wing can be mounted to the fuselage in high, low and middle positions. The wing design depends on many parameters such as selection of aspect ratio , taper ratio, sweepback angle, thickness ratio, section profile, washout and dihedral . The cross-sectional shape of

9017-401: The design process and comprise the non-technical influences on aircraft design along with environmental factors. Competition leads to companies striving for better efficiency in the design without compromising performance and incorporating new techniques and technology. In the 1950s and '60s, unattainable project goals were regularly set, but then abandoned, whereas today troubled programs like

9144-736: The development phase. Examples of this include the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a delay of 4 years with massive cost overruns, the Boeing 747-8 with a two-year delay, the Airbus A380 with a two-year delay and US$ 6.1 billion in cost overruns, the Airbus A350 with delays and cost overruns, the Bombardier C Series , Global 7000 and 8000, the Comac C919 with a four-year delay and the Mitsubishi Regional Jet , which

9271-653: The difficulties that the airframe industry and its airline customers can experience when adopting new technology . The incident bears comparison with the Airbus A300 crash on takeoff of the American Airlines Flight 587 in 2001, after its vertical stabilizer broke away from the fuselage , called attention to operation, maintenance and design issues involving composite materials that are used in many recent airframes. The A300 had experienced other structural problems but none of this magnitude. As

9398-459: The earth. Lindbergh's ultimate arrival in Ireland deviated from his flight plan by just a few miles. Lindbergh sat in a cramped cockpit which was 36 in × 32 in × 52 in (91 cm × 81 cm × 132 cm) in width, length, and height. It was so small, Lindbergh could not stretch his legs, nevertheless it was to be his home for nearly two days and nights over

9525-418: The engine in the event of a crash. This design decision meant that there could be no front windshield, and that forward visibility would be limited to the side windows. This did not concern Lindbergh as he was accustomed to flying in the rear cockpit of mail planes with mail bags in the front. When he wanted to see forward, he would slightly yaw the aircraft and look out the side. To provide some forward vision as

9652-542: The engine must balance the drag at cruise speed and be greater than the drag to allow acceleration. The engine requirement varies with the type of aircraft. For instance, commercial airliners spend more time in cruise speed and need more engine efficiency. High-performance fighter jets need very high acceleration and therefore have very high thrust requirements. The weight of the aircraft is the common factor that links all aspects of aircraft design such as aerodynamics, structure, and propulsion, all together. An aircraft's weight

9779-456: The entire New York-to-Paris flight. It was also, for its day, very fuel-efficient, enabling longer flights carrying less fuel weight for given distances. Another key feature of the Whirlwind radial engine was that it was rated to self-lubricate the engine's valves for 40 hours continuously. Lubricating, or "greasing," the moving external engine parts was a necessity most aeronautical engines of

9906-465: The era through the use of all-metal airframes. In 1937, the Lockheed XC-35 was specifically constructed with cabin pressurization to undergo extensive high-altitude flight tests, paving the way for the Boeing 307 Stratoliner , which would be the first aircraft with a pressurized cabin to enter commercial service. During World War II , military needs again dominated airframe designs. Among

10033-492: The event of loss of cabin pressure, lockable luggage compartments, safety belts, lifejackets, emergency doors and luminous floor strips. Aircraft are sometimes designed with emergency water landing in mind, for instance the Airbus A330 has a 'ditching' switch that closes valves and openings beneath the aircraft slowing the ingress of water. Aircraft designers normally rough-out the initial design with consideration of all

10160-536: The expansion of airways over already congested and polluted cities have drawn heavy criticism, making it necessary to have environmental policies for aircraft noise. Noise also arises from the airframe, where the airflow directions are changed. Improved noise regulations have forced designers to create quieter engines and airframes. Emissions from aircraft include particulates, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), various oxides of nitrates and unburnt hydrocarbons . To combat

10287-408: The experienced Lindbergh approved the unaltered design. This setup resulted in a negatively stable design that tended to randomly introduce unanticipated pitch , yaw , and bank (roll) elements into its overall flight characteristics. There is a dispute regarding whether Hall and Lindbergh also preferred this design because they anticipated that the continuous corrections to the random movements of

10414-417: The film. Stewart is credited as having donated the aircraft to the museum. Lindbergh was reputed to have flown one of the reproductions during the film's production, however, the connection to Lindbergh is now considered a myth. On the 40th anniversary of Lindbergh's flight, a new reproduction named Spirit 2 was built by a movie stunt pilot, Frank Tallman . It first flew on April 24, 1967, and appeared at

10541-645: The final time while making a hop from St. Louis to Bolling Field , in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 1928. There he presented the plane to the Smithsonian Institution where for more than eight decades it has been on display, hanging for 48 years (1928–76) in the Arts and Industries Building , and since 1976 hanging in the atrium of the National Air and Space Museum alongside the Bell X-1 and SpaceShipOne . At

10668-439: The finalization of the design lies the key decision with the manufacturer or individual designing it whether to actually go ahead with the production of the aircraft. At this point several designs, though perfectly capable of flight and performance, might have been opted out of production due to their being economically nonviable. This phase simply deals with the fabrication aspect of the aircraft to be manufactured. It determines

10795-453: The golden hue on the engine cowling will remain, as it is part of the aircraft's natural state after acquisition and during its years on display. The effort to preserve artifacts is not to alter them but to maintain them as much as possible in the state in which the Smithsonian acquired them. In 2015 the aircraft was lowered to the floor of the museum's Milestone's gallery, and the tires were temporarily replaced with "forklift" style tires. This

10922-504: The good record of the M-1 with Pacific Air Transport , wired, "Can you construct Whirlwind engine plane capable flying nonstop between New York and Paris ...?" Mahoney was away from the factory, but Ryan answered, "Can build plane similar M-1 but larger wings... delivery about three months." Lindbergh wired back that due to competition, delivery in less than three months was essential. Many years later, John Vanderlinde, chief mechanic of Ryan Airlines, recalled, "But nothing fazed B.F. Mahoney,

11049-420: The greatest attention to airworthiness, accidents still occur. Crashworthiness is the qualitative evaluation of how aircraft survive an accident. The main objective is to protect the passengers or valuable cargo from the damage caused by an accident. In the case of airliners the stressed skin of the pressurized fuselage provides this feature, but in the event of a nose or tail impact, large bending moments build all

11176-678: The high-performance aircraft designed since 1945 have made extensive use of skin structures machined from thick plate and extrusions, precluding the use of alclad exterior skins. Maintenance requirements increased as a result, and these stimulated research and development programs seeking higher-strength alloys with improved resistance to corrosion without cladding. Aluminum alloy castings traditionally have been used in nonstructural airplane hardware, such as pulley brackets, quadrants, doublers, clips and ducts. They also have been employed extensively in complex valve bodies of hydraulic control systems. The philosophy of some aircraft manufacturers still

11303-502: The high-strength alloys is also to record the development of airframes. Duralumin , the first high-strength, heat treatable aluminum alloy, was employed initially for the framework of rigid airships , by Germany and the Allies during World War I. Duralumin was an aluminum-copper-magnesium alloy; it was originated in Germany and developed in the United States as Alloy 17S-T (2017-T4). It was utilized primarily as sheet and plate. Alloy 7075-T6 (70,000-psi yield strength), an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy,

11430-403: The high-strength alloys utilized have low weldability and low weld-joint efficiencies. Some of the alloys, such as 2024-T4, also have their corrosion resistance lowered in the heat-affected zone if left in the as-welded condition. The improved welding processes and higher-strength weldable alloys developed during the past decade offer new possibilities for welded primary structures. For example,

11557-406: The landing gear to provide a wider wheelbase in order to accommodate the weight of the fuel. At Lindbergh's request, the large main and forward fuel tanks were placed in the forward section of the fuselage, in front of the pilot, with the oil tank acting as a firewall. This arrangement improved the center of gravity and reduced the risk of the pilot being crushed to death between the main tank and

11684-531: The light, strong and streamlined monocoque fuselage formed of thin plywood layers over a circular frame, achieving 210 km/h (130 mph). Many early developments were spurred by military needs during World War I . Well known aircraft from that era include the Dutch designer Anthony Fokker 's combat aircraft for the German Empire 's Luftstreitkräfte , and U.S. Curtiss flying boats and

11811-570: The many hazards that pose a threat to air travel. Airworthiness is the standard by which aircraft are determined fit to fly. The responsibility for airworthiness lies with the national civil aviation regulatory bodies, manufacturers , as well as owners and operators. The International Civil Aviation Organization sets international standards and recommended practices on which national authorities should base their regulations. The national regulatory authorities set standards for airworthiness, issue certificates to manufacturers and operators and

11938-566: The method has not yet been developed extensively in the aerospace industry. Adhesive bonding is a common method of joining in both primary and secondary structures. Its selection is dependent on the design philosophy of the aircraft manufacturer. It has proven satisfactory in attaching stiffeners, such as hat sections to sheet, and face sheets to honeycomb cores . Also, adhesive bonding has withstood adverse exposures such as sea-water immersion and atmospheres. Fusion welded aluminum primary structures in airplanes are virtually nonexistent, because

12065-420: The number, design and location of ribs , spars , sections and other structural elements. All aerodynamic, structural, propulsion, control and performance aspects have already been covered in the preliminary design phase and only the manufacturing remains. Flight simulators for aircraft are also developed at this stage. Some commercial aircraft have experienced significant schedule delays and cost overruns in

12192-469: The pollution, ICAO set recommendations in 1981 to control aircraft emissions. Newer, environmentally friendly fuels have been developed and the use of recyclable materials in manufacturing have helped reduce the ecological impact due to aircraft. Environmental limitations also affect airfield compatibility. Airports around the world have been built to suit the topography of the particular region. Space limitations, pavement design, runway end safety areas and

12319-570: The post office that bore the name of a living person. Over the next 10 months, Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis on promotional and goodwill tours across the United States and Latin America . According to the published log of the Spirit, during his 3-month tour of the US, he allowed Major Thomas Lamphier (Commander of the 1st Pursuit Squadron, Selfridge Field) and Lieutenant Philip R. Love (classmate in flight school and colleague of Lindbergh's in

12446-466: The project in 2019. The maiden flight was performed July 28, 2019 and the public debut flight was September 8, piloted by John's friend and seasoned pilot, Ron Fowler. In 2015, with coordinated efforts by fellow Spirit researcher Ty Sundstrom and the National Air & Space Museum , Norman took detailed measurements to correct errors he had discovered in the existing "Morrow" drawings. During

12573-521: The rise of programming languages, engineers could now write programs that were tailored to design an aircraft. Originally this was done with mainframe computers and used low-level programming languages that required the user to be fluent in the language and know the architecture of the computer. With the introduction of personal computers, design programs began employing a more user-friendly approach. The main aspects of aircraft design are: All aircraft designs involve compromises of these factors to achieve

12700-407: The same trip, in an attempted search for Lindbergh's missing logbook, Norman used a video boroscope to inspect never-before seen areas of the fuselage and discovered an original pair of pliers thought to have been used by Lindbergh to adjust the fuel valves during flight. In late 2021, a documentary feature film centered on the project and its builder began production. A tentative summer 2023 release

12827-469: The sheet. Electrolytic protection , present under wet or moist conditions, is based on the appreciably higher electrode potential of commercial-purity aluminum compared to alloy 2017 or 2024 in the T3 or T4 temper. When 7075-T6 and other Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys appeared, an aluminum-zinc cladding alloy 7072 was developed to provide a relative electrode potential sufficient to protect the new strong alloys. However,

12954-402: The skin needs moderately high yield strength and hardness to minimize ground damage from stones, debris, mechanics’ tools, and general handling. Other primary factors involved in selecting an alloy for this application are corrosion resistance, cost, and appearance. Alloys 6061-T6 and alclad 2024-T3 are the primary choices. Skin sheet on light airplanes of recent design and construction generally

13081-604: The standards of personnel training. Every country has its own regulatory body such as the Federal Aviation Administration in USA, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) in India, etc. The aircraft manufacturer makes sure that the aircraft meets existing design standards, defines the operating limitations and maintenance schedules and provides support and maintenance throughout the operational life of

13208-550: The stresses caused by cabin pressurization , if fitted, turbulence and engine or rotor vibrations. The design of any aircraft starts out in three phases Aircraft conceptual design involves sketching a variety of possible configurations that meet the required design specifications. By drawing a set of configurations, designers seek to reach the design configuration that satisfactorily meets all requirements as well as go hand in hand with factors such as aerodynamics, propulsion, flight performance, structural and control systems. This

13335-423: The time of its retirement, the Spirit had made 174 flights, totaling 489:28 hours in the air. The Spirit of St. Louis appears today much as it appeared on its accession into the Smithsonian collection in 1928, except that the gold color of the aircraft's aluminum nose panels is an artifact of well-intended early conservation efforts: Not long after the museum took possession of the Spirit , conservators applied

13462-409: The top and bottom off of his flight map. He carried no radio in order to save weight and because the radios of the period were unreliable and difficult to use while flying solo. Also, although he was an airmail pilot, he refused to carry souvenir letters on the transatlantic journey, insisting that every spare ounce be devoted to fuel. The fuselage was made of treated fabric over a metal tube frame, while

13589-399: The twentieth century progressed, aluminum became an essential metal in aircraft. The cylinder block of the engine that powered the Wright brothers’ plane at Kitty Hawk in 1903 was a one-piece casting in an aluminum alloy containing 8% copper; aluminum propeller blades appeared as early as 1907; and aluminum covers, seats, cowlings, cast brackets, and similar parts were common by the beginning of

13716-550: The unique location of airport are some of the airport factors that influence aircraft design. However changes in aircraft design also influence airfield design as well, for instance, the recent introduction of new large aircraft (NLAs) such as the superjumbo Airbus A380 , have led to airports worldwide redesigning their facilities to accommodate its large size and service requirements. The high speeds, fuel tanks, atmospheric conditions at cruise altitudes, natural hazards (thunderstorms, hail and bird strikes) and human error are some of

13843-417: The way through the fuselage, causing fractures in the shell, causing the fuselage to break up into smaller sections. So the passenger aircraft are designed in such a way that seating arrangements are away from areas likely to be intruded in an accident, such as near a propeller, engine nacelle undercarriage etc. The interior of the cabin is also fitted with safety features such as oxygen masks that drop down in

13970-506: The weldability and strength of alloys 2219 and 7039, and the brazeability and strength of X7005, open new avenues for design and manufacture of aircraft structures. Light aircraft have airframes primarily of all-aluminum semi-monocoque construction, however, a few light planes have tubular truss load-carrying construction with fabric or aluminum skin, or both. Aluminum skin is normally of the minimum practical thickness: 0.015 to 0.025 in. Although design strength requirements are relatively low,

14097-650: The wing is its airfoil . The construction of the wing starts with the rib which defines the airfoil shape. Ribs can be made of wood, metal, plastic or even composites. The wing must be designed and tested to ensure it can withstand the maximum loads imposed by maneuvering, and by atmospheric gusts. The fuselage is the part of the aircraft that contains the cockpit , passenger cabin or cargo hold. Aircraft propulsion may be achieved by specially designed aircraft engines, adapted auto, motorcycle or snowmobile engines, electric engines or even human muscle power. The main parameters of engine design are: The thrust provided by

14224-639: The wings were made of fabric over a wood frame. The plywood material that was used to build most of Lindbergh's plane was made at the Haskelite Manufacturing Corporation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A small, left-facing Indian-style swastika was painted on the inside of the original propeller spinner of the Spirit of St. Louis along with the names of all the Ryan Aircraft employees who designed and built it. It

14351-417: The world's first jet airliner , the de Havilland Comet , first flew in 1949. Early models suffered from catastrophic airframe metal fatigue , causing a series of widely publicised accidents. The Royal Aircraft Establishment investigation at Farnborough Airport founded the science of aircraft crash reconstruction. After 3000 pressurisation cycles in a specially constructed pressure chamber, airframe failure

14478-488: The young sportsman who had just bought Ryan." Mahoney telegraphed Lindbergh back the same day: "Can complete in two months." Lindbergh arrived in San Diego on February 23 and toured the factory with Mahoney, meeting Bowlus, chief engineer Donald Hall, and sales manager A. J. Edwards. After further discussions between Mahoney, Hall and Lindbergh, Mahoney offered to build the Spirit for $ 10,580, restating his commitment to deliver it in 60 days. Lindbergh contributed $ 2,000 toward

14605-666: Was built from wood—plywood facings bonded to a balsawood core and formed using molds to produce monocoque structures, leading to the development of metal-to-metal bonding used later for the de Havilland Comet and Fokker F27 and F28 . Postwar commercial airframe design focused on airliners , on turboprop engines, and then on jet engines . The generally higher speeds and tensile stresses of turboprops and jets were major challenges. Newly developed aluminium alloys with copper , magnesium and zinc were critical to these designs. Flown in 1952 and designed to cruise at Mach 2 where skin friction required its heat resistance,

14732-575: Was delayed by four years and ended up with empty weight issues. An existing aircraft program can be developed for performance and economy gains by stretching the fuselage , increasing the MTOW , enhancing the aerodynamics, installing new engines , new wings or new avionics. For a 9,100 nmi long range at Mach 0.8/FL360, a 10% lower TSFC saves 13% of fuel, a 10% L/D increase saves 12%, a 10% lower OEW saves 6% and all combined saves 28%. Spirit of St. Louis The Spirit of St. Louis (formally

14859-535: Was done to preserve the Spirit's original tires which, due to age and lessening of vulcanization , are unable to sustain the aircraft's weight without disintegration (conservation was also likely undertaken on the wheel assembly itself). NYP-2, an exact duplicate of the Spirit of St. Louis , was built 45 days after the transatlantic flight, for the Japanese newspaper Mainichi . The NYP-2 carrying serial number 29

14986-513: Was found to be due to stress concentration, a consequence of the square shaped windows. The windows had been engineered to be glued and riveted, but had been punch riveted only. Unlike drill riveting, the imperfect nature of the hole created by punch riveting may cause the start of fatigue cracks around the rivet. The Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop, first flown in 1957 became a costly lesson in controlling oscillation and planning around metal fatigue . Its 1959 crash of Braniff Flight 542 showed

15113-581: Was hastily made in New York to replace the cracked original and was on the aircraft during the transatlantic flight. Lindbergh's New York-to-Paris flight made him an instant celebrity and media star. In winning the Orteig Prize, Lindbergh stirred the public's imagination. He wrote: "I was astonished at the effect my successful landing in France had on the nations of the world. It was like a match lighting

15240-489: Was introduced in 1943. Since then, most aircraft structures have been specified in alloys of this type. The first aircraft designed in 7075-T6 was the Navy’s P2V patrol bomber . A higher-strength alloy in the same series, 7178-T6 (78,000-psi yield strength), was developed in 1951; it has not generally displaced 7075-T6, which has superior fracture toughness. Alloy 7178-T6 is used primarily in structural members where performance

15367-481: Was itself a veteran of one of the earliest transatlantic flights), where President Coolidge presented the 25-year-old U.S. Army Reserve aviator with the Distinguished Flying Cross . On the same day, the U.S Post Office issued a commemorative 10-cent "Lindbergh Air Mail" stamp depicting the Spirit over a map of its flight from New York to Paris, and which was also the first stamp issued by

15494-402: Was meant as a message of good luck prior to Lindbergh's solo Atlantic crossing as the symbol was often used as a popular good luck charm with early aviators and others. The inside of the original propeller spinner can be viewed at the National Air and Space Museum . This propeller spinner was found to be cracked when Lindbergh arrived at New York prior to his transatlantic flight. A replacement

15621-435: Was necessary in order to have the range to make the anticipated flight non-stop. The fuel was stored in five fuel tanks, a forward tank – 88 U.S. gal (330 L; 73 imp gal), the main – 209 U.S. gal (790 L; 174 imp gal), and three wing tanks – total of 153 U.S. gal (580 L; 127 imp gal). Lindbergh modified the design of the plane's "trombone struts" attached to

15748-558: Was obtained by Palen in the 1970s for the project's start, with original, and still-functional 1920s-era flight instruments being incorporated — including the same basic type of earth inductor compass used by Lindbergh — matching the ones in the original Spirit at the NASM. This reproduction aircraft successfully flew in early December 2015 in upstate New York, piloted by aircraft restorer/builder Ken Cassens of Stone Ridge, New York . The aircraft made its public debut flight on May 21, 2016,

15875-482: Was registered as J-BACC and achieved a number of record-breaking flights early in 1928 before a crash ended its career. Although Ryan capitalized on the notoriety of the NYP special, further developments were only superficially comparable to the Spirit of St. Louis . An offshoot of the Ryan B-1 Brougham emerged as a five-seater with the same J-5 engine but modified with a conventional cockpit layout and

16002-622: Was to be based on a conversion from a B-1 Brougham; the aircraft proved to be too badly deteriorated to be used in that manner), flown by EAA founder Paul Poberezny to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic Ocean and subsequent tour of the United States. This example is now on display in the main museum gallery. A second reproduction, started from scratch in 1977 and first flown in November 1990, continues to fly at air shows and commemorative events. Both of

16129-898: Was written off on May 31, 2003. Shortly after takeoff at an air show in Coventry, England, structural failure occurred, resulting in a fatal crash, killing its owner-pilot, Captain Pierre Holländer. A recently completed Spirit reproduction, intended for airworthiness is owned by the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome (ORA), fulfilling a lifelong dream of its primary founder, Cole Palen (1925–1993). The reproduction project had been started by Cole before his own death and has mostly been subsequently built by former ORA pilot and current vintage aircraft maintenance manager Ken Cassens, receiving its wing covering, completed with doped fabric in 2015. A restored Wright J-5 Whirlwind radial

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